Traditional sports have
always been offered in Beijing but during the past decade more modern
international sports have become increasingly popular. Many go-karting
circuits, baseball pitches and rock-climbing
teams can be found in the city, and tournaments for just about every
sport are held regularly. Like the rest of the world, football
is very popular; the main football team in Beijing
is Guo An, whose home base is the Worker’s
Stadium on Gongtibeilu. The team is a member of the Pepsi
Cola Football League, together with the top 15 clubs in the
China.
Tickets can be purchased at the stadium on the day of the match
or in person at ticket outlets in department stores and shopping
centres. Tickets for some events can also be bought from Webtix
(tel: (10) 6592-8449 or 6594-9460).
Fitness
centres
Many fitness centres are located in hotels and charge membership
fees, however, Capital Gymnasium, 5 Baishi Qiao,
Xizhimen Wai Dajie (tel: (10) 6833-5552), is open for table tennis
and badminton as well as other sports. The China World Fitness
Centre at the China World Hotel, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie
(tel: (10) 6505-2266), has a gym, squash courts and a swimming pool.
Golf
The Grand Canal club located in the Tongzhou district
of municipal Beijing (tel: (10) 8958-3058 or 8947-0005) and the
Beijing Country Golf Club (tel: (10) 6940-1111)
in Beijing’s Shunyi County both have challenging courses and
are within 45 minutes’ journey from downtown Beijing. Green
fees are RMB500 during the week and RMB800 at weekends.
Possibly the finest course in the Beijing area is the championship-standard
International Club (tel: (10) 6974-6388 or 6076-2288).
Its 7000-yard (6400-metre) course makes it good for only the most
experienced players. Green fees are RMB650-1100.
Swimming
Plenty of hotels have swimming pools however use
of the facilities is often limited to hotel residents or members.
The Friendship Hotel, 3 Baishiqiao Lu, Haidian
(tel: (10) 6849-8888), has an outdoor pool, or the Olympic
Sports Center, 1 Anding Lu (tel: (10) 6491-0468) also has
a pool.
Waterparks are very popular in
China. There are many around Beijing, including Qingnianhu
Water Park, Qingnianhu Park (tel: (10) 6421- 6321), and
Lakeview Waterpark (tel: (10)
6966-1696), by Yanqi Lake in Huairou County.
Tennis
There are Indoor and outdoor tennis courts located at the Beijing
Grand Canal Club, Hu Ge Zhuang, Tongzhou District (tel:
(10) 8958- 2988). Outdoor courts are also at the Beijing
International Club on Jianguomenwai (tel: (10) 6500-3941),
Beijing Tennis Club, on Xiannongtan (tel: (10)
6317-5606), and Beijing International Centre, on
Tiantan Donglu (tel: (10) 6714-2374). |
